The present invention relates to a dental set plate.
Dental set plates have long been known such as, for example, the dental set plate described in DE-GM 7 411 122. The dental set plate described in that publication retains as a dental set six or seven front teeth or side teeth in a row in readiness for a dentist or a dental technician. The dentist makes use of drawers with inserts in an index or classification structure which permit the arrangement of a plurality of such dental sets in one over another or side-by-side relationship. In this manner, a quick pre-selection can be undertaken of the color and form of a replacement tooth which is to be made available. The support body includes a receiving channel for receiving therein a wax-like mass into which the replacement teeth can be pressed. At the same time, adequate writing space above and below the receiving channel is available, whereby the tooth color and form, the tooth fabricator, and further individual details can be recorded in abbreviated form.
Dental sets of such teeth are supplied in finished condition in the dental set plates. In this regard, special transport containers have been designed which support the dental set plates for transport in one over another and side-by-side relationship to one another. The cases serving as these transport containers are opened by the dentist or the dental office staff and sorted out into the drawers. This process is a determinedly time consuming logistical process as the placement and removal of the dental set plates must each be noted.
It continually occurs in the transport of the transport cases that individual teeth come loose and cannot thereafter be restored to the correct dental set plate without considerable effort. This evidently occurs in particular if the dental set plates have been transported during particularly cool conditions. The lowering of the transport temperature results in a hardening of the deformable mass into which the teeth have been pressed, as in most instances the deformable mass is comprised of wax or a wax derivative, whereupon the retention capability of the mass is substantially reduced.
To improve the retention capability of the mass, it is known to use a binder wax which exhibits a good retention capability even at significantly lower temperatures. The use of a binder wax permits transport and storage down to minus 10xc2x0 C. without dislodgment of the transported teeth. However, the binder wax has the undesirable property that it has a distinctly viscous-sticky characteristic at room temperature. In practice, it is difficult if not impossible to remove the remnants of the binder wax from the teeth; at the same time, the danger exists that the binder wax remnants detract from the restoration result.
There is a further problem with conventional dental set plates with regard to the color variations of different batches even from the same fabricator. Differences in color and light transmissivity occur in different batches even with respect to teeth of the same color and light transmissivity properties. In order to obtain the greatest possible uniformity in the restoration result, it is desirable to use only those teeth fabricated from the same batch so that color and light transmissivity uniformity can be achieved. With conventional dental set plates, however, it is not possible to regularly establish the batch origin of the teeth.
It would further be desirable to be able to ascertain, in connection with the never ending warranty events or damage to teeth, individual information concerning the transport of the dental set plates. At the same time, it is currently unsatisfactory that the stockage must be individually manually controlled. Such control is decidedly resource demanding in that those assigned to the task must very precisely grasp the dental set plates on hand and then perform the corresponding inventory control. An error in the manual inventory control easily leads to delivery bottlenecks so that, in the event, a poorly suited tooth replacement may have to be used if, due to inadvertence, a more suitable replacement tooth has not been re-ordered. Moreover, the manual inventory control is labor intensive and is thus not desirable from a cost control perspective.
It has been proposed to provide bar codes on the underside of the dental set plates to thereby enable automatic data gathering. However, the affixation of such bar codes on the underside of the dental set plates would require removal and turning movement of the underside to effect a reading of the bar code by a bar code reader during a data gathering step.
The present invention offers a dental set plate as a solution to the challenge of providing a dental set plate which permits an optimally reduced color variation between the replacement teeth and the teeth to be replaced while at the same time improving the storage and transport dispositions without having to forego the already on hand storage location for such dental set plates with its index or classification arrangement.
In accordance with the present invention, it is particularly advantageous if the hood offers the possibility of protecting the teeth during their transport so that the danger of individual teeth getting lost, and thus rendering the dental set basically useless, is foreclosed, as well as also offering the possibility to provide identification of the dental set so that, at the least, the individual sorting out of the dental sets is facilitated. The dental set plate of the present invention unexpectedly provides the possibility of configuring the deformable wax-like mass with a less sticky consistency without the danger of loss of the retained dental items. If the replacement teeth are maintained in inventory by the dentist or the dental technical personnel, the dental set plates are typically at room temperature whereupon the wax-like mass, in any event, better retains the replacement teeth within the dental set plate. At the same time, the shaking experienced by the dental set plates in their stocked dispositions within drawers is less than the shaking which can occur during the transport of the dental set plates. The transport of the dental set plates also brings forth the danger that the dental set plates will be turned around. The see through hood of the dental set plate of the present invention also aids in preventing such turning around of the dental set plates during their transport. As a consequence of the ability to provide a retaining mass having relatively less stickiness, the risk is reduced that remnants of the retaining mass will adhere to the teeth which are removed from their retained dispositions on the mass and thereby lead to unclean dental conditions.
In accordance with the present invention, it is, in addition, particularly advantageous if the dental set plates are stackable and can thereby be automatically transported and stocked.
It is especially advantageous, in accordance with the present invention, if the hood of the dental set plate remains with the on hand index or classification structure for stocking the dental set plates. In this connection, it is provided that the dimensions of the support body are, at least in the region thereof into which the walls of the hood extend, configured at a smaller dimension and, in fact, configured in correspondence with the wall strength of the hood. In one embodiment of the dental set plate of the present invention, the hood is disposed under the support body on a step or offset so that a certain sealing mechanism is formed thereat. This embodiment of the dental set plate is particularly advantageous if it is sought to also provide protection of the replacement teeth against unclean or unhygienic elements.
The drawers of a dental teeth sample cabinet are typically constructed so as to offer a certain sealing off against the entry of dust and dirt deposition. Nonetheless, conventional dental set plates stocked in such cabinets must undergo a cleaning from time to time which proves itself to be decidedly laborious as a straight forward vacuuming of the replacement teeth with a vacuum can lead to a loss of the teeth. The hood of the dental set plate of the present invention, on the other hand, drastically reduces the infiltration of dust and debris even during a stockage of the replacement teeth for several years. It is preferred, in this connection, that the hood cover or close off the support body on all sides thereof.
In another embodiment of the dental set plate of the present invention, each wall of the support body to which a wall of the hood extends, extends directly downwardly. This configuration permits a turning over of the hood so that the inverted hood extends over the support body from below.
The product information indicia provided on the dental set plate in accordance with the present invention, if disposed on a side of the dental set plate such as, in particular, on a side wall of the hood, can be readily noted and, as well, can be readily accessed by a bar code reader or scanner. In this manner, the stockage of the dental set plates in a dental laboratory, a dental supply location, and a dentist office can be accomplished in an automatic manner. In this connection, there exists, for example, the possibility to briefly guide new dental set plates over the scanner during the stockage of such dental set plates in order to thereby maintain and update an inventory accounting. A corresponding inventory accounting program permits the inventory status to be determined at all times. If a replacement tooth is used, the corresponding dental set plate including its hood is guided over another scanner or the one scanner is switched into a mode in which it captures information to indicate the removal of the replacement tooth. In this manner, the status of the stockage of the dental set plates can be precisely tracked by machine and it is also possible to set up an automatic reordering capability which is triggered when the available supply drops below a predetermined minimum stockage amount.
The product information indicia on the dental set plate of the present invention also permits identification of the batch from which the dental set in the dental set plate was fabricated as well as provides the ability to trace the fabricator of the dental set.
The dental set plate of the present invention permits the realization of at least one see through region through which the replacement teeth can be readily viewed. The hood of the dental set plate can, for example, be comprised of polyacrylic or another desired suitable material. If a particularly clear plastic or synthetic material without color distortion is used, it is also possible to perform a color evaluation without the risk that the hood will cause a color distortion.
In an advantageous embodiment of the dental set plate of the present invention, two grip areas are provided on the support body each of which is configured with a groove, corrugation, or depression. The side walls of the hood extend preferably backwardly at the grip areas so that the opening of the dental set plate can be reliably and quickly performed while a firm seating of the hood is nonetheless ensured to thereby contribute to a good seal against the penetration into the dental set plate of dirt and other outside elements as well as preventing a loss of the replacement teeth from the dental set plate during its transport.
The product information indicia can be affixed to a side wall or end wall of the hood. In those locations, there is sufficient unused space so that, for example, a decidedly large bar code can be affixed. In one embodiment of the dental set plate of the present invention, the product information indicia is affixed to the cover surface of the hood along an edge. In this manner, unobstructed viewing of the writing on the support body and on the replacement teeth themselves is possible. Nonetheless, the product information indicia can as needed for the purpose, for example, of inventory accounting, also be readable by a hand scanner if the dental set plate is disposed in the drawer of the dental teeth sample cabinet, as the side wall of the dental set plate is typically covered due to the serial one after another arrangement of the dental set plates with one another in the cabinet.
In accordance with the present invention, it is especially advantageous if the dental set plates with their hoods are stackable and thereby accessible for an automatic retrieval.
The affixation of the product information indicia on the side walls of the dental set plates permits the capture of product information to also be performed in a stacked disposition of the dental set plates. It is to be understood that the product information indicia can be disposed as needed on the front side as well as the backside of the dental set plate.
In a further advantageous embodiment of the dental set plate of the present invention, a tamper indication element is provided. This element can be in the form, for example, of an adhesive strip secured to the hood and the support body whose unbroken condition can be taken as a guarantee that the dental set plate has not been opened.
In an additional advantageous embodiment of the dental set plate of the present invention, the tamper indication element is in the form of an adhesive strip having product information indicia thereon so that a single label can ensure the securement of the hood and the support body to one another as well as provide the product information indicia.